Video and computer motion analysis systems are currently used in all areas of sports training. The golf industry has adopted the use of these systems for the purpose of instructing students to improve their technique of swinging a golf club. Some of these training systems utilize video cameras to capture the golf swing for purposes of slow motion playback. Other systems use complicated and expensive motion sensors which are attached to the body of the student to measure the motion of the student during the golf swing. These more complex systems are superior to video only systems as they present the student with objective measurement data, not just the subjective assessment of the instructor. Although these technologies have proven very useful, they have significant disadvantages and have not been applied for the purpose of correcting the golf putting stroke.
In a golf match, as many or more strokes are taken on the green as are taken in the fairway or around the green. Improvement in a golfer's putting stroke is just as important as improvement in their full swing technique in the attempt to minimize their golf score. Although video and motion analysis systems have proven to be very beneficial for improving a golfer's full swing, they have not been successfully applied to improve the putting stroke. As with the full golf swing, the parameters that define an ideal putting stroke are virtually impossible to detect with the naked eye. Furthermore, teaching systems that rely exclusively on video recording and playback offer no method for detecting or measuring these parameters. More advanced computer teaching systems include sensors to measure the student's motion and may be able to detect some factors that define the ideal putting stroke. However, these sensors must be attached to the student's body and would tend to adversely affect the putting stroke. Furthermore, sensors attached to the student's body can not measure the motion of the putter head itself during the putting stroke. Objective measurement of the putter head during the stroke motion is crucial in the process of instructing and improving the putter stroke. The sensors used in typical teaching systems are magnetic based. These sensors can not be attached to a metal putter without having the measurement from the sensor be adversely affected by the metal induced change of the local magnetic field. Magnetic based sensors, such as the Fastrak or IsoTrak systems manufactured by Polhemus can not be used in close proximity with metal objects.
For any teaching system that uses motion capture and analysis, it is essential the teaching system is configured and aligned properly. If the reference coordinate system of the teaching system is not aligned with physical, ideal ball trajectory, all measurements will include an error offset. Teaching systems used today do not offer adequate methods and alignment fixtures to facilitate precise system alignment to the target.
Consequently, computer systems that are available and designed for instruction and improvement of the full swing golf motion are not adequate for the instruction and improvement of the golf putting stroke. Existing systems can record video of the student's motion and objectively measure the motion of the student's body during the swing motion. They are not adequate for the purpose improving the putting stroke as they are not able to accurately measure the motion of the putter head during the putting stroke.
Furthermore, a golf putter has several physical characteristics that can be specified for purposes of improving a golfer's putting stroke. These include, but not limited to, the shaft length, head weight, head face angle, and head offset. The proper combination of these characteristics in the selection and adjustment of the putter is very useful in the attempt to optimize the golfer's putting stroke. An objective measurement of a putting stroke motion while altering these various characteristics would be extremely useful in the process of customizing a putter to enhance putting performance.
Although this invention is designed primarily for measuring and correcting the putting stroke, in an alternate version, the analysis tool can be used for measuring and analyzing a swing motion performed using other types of golf clubs such as a sand wedge or pitching wedge.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has been made.